Fail-Safe
by AsterWastaken
Summary: Fours months after the events of The Lab. A dangerous new force is targeting vigilante organisations in the City. Is it ChaoSonic tightening their hold on the City, or is this much more personal? The Deck struggles to identify the new threat before it eliminates them too. Pre-Remote Control (Pre-Crossover).
1. Chapter 1

_The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing. – Edmund Burke_

* * *

_Prologue:_

"No. No, _please_. Please don't."

The grime coated man shakily kicked his heels into the ground, shuffling his hands on the harsh cement floor as he scurried into a corner.

"Please, don't do this-"

He gasped as a cold vice gripped his throat and felt himself being picked up off the floor.

"I don't-"

The last thing the man felt was being thrown through the air like a ragdoll.

His head hit a cement wall and his skull imploded on impact.

He was dead before he hit the ground.

* * *

Chapter 1:

"You've called Vornan's AC installation and consultancy. All operators are currently busy but will return your call shorty."

_Beeeep._

"Hey, it's Hoz. I've lost your personal mobile number, but I was wondering if you'd like to catch up for lunch this week. I've found a place that does the best coffee. Let me know."

_End of messages._

Six carefully removed his latex gloves and tossed them into the garbage bin. The latex began to bubble and distort as it was heated, removing any trace of his fingerprints.

The number was one he gave to his informants. He hadn't removed the ChaoSonic GPS tracker in the mobile instead programming a proxy signal that would always show it pinging at an address several kilometers away. At the real Vornan's AC.

Four months ago, Six was assigned a rescue mission to recover multiple hostages who were kidnapped and forced into designing killer soldier bots. The hostages were experts in their field, from AI programming to robotic engineering. Hoz had been one of those hostages and insisted he be able to contact Six in the event he had information to pass on. In his words, he wanted to help the Deck's cause after all they had done for him. Six had given him his informants phone number along with instructions on code words to use. Lunch meant it was urgent. The best coffee meant new information.

Six walked down a corridor to his training room.

"Harry."

_"Good morning Agent Six of Hearts. Do you wish to go over last night's training drills?"_

Two silvery eyes met Six's as the bot turned its attention on him. Harry was the product of the hostages' enslavement. An incredibly lethal soldier bot made more lethal by its advanced AI programming. Programming that allowed it to not just function but _learn_.

"No. I want you to send an encrypted message to Hoz. Tell him I'll meet him at Madame Wu's Tea House at 1130HRS."

_"It is done."_

_Well, that was fast,_ thought Six.

"I will be back in a few hours. Occupy yourself but don't leave the house."

_"As you wish."_

Six turned on his heel and walked back down the corridor. He swore he could feel silvery eyes boring into his back.

Grabbing his long black coat, Six stepped out the front door and was engulfed by thick grey fog.

* * *

Six joined the masses of people making their way through City Square. Constant background noise assaulted him from all directions. He tried to drown it out and focus on a single source at a time. A GM food salesman was spruiking to passer-by's at the far end of the square while a religious speaker preached at the other end. Advertisements projected onto the surfaces of surrounding buildings produced flashes of colour on the stark grey walls. 'Escape the Fake' one projection read displaying images of a manmade island East of the Seawall. Six wondered if anyone was dumb enough to buy into that as he joined a mob of people entering a mall off the Square.

The reddish clay tiles disappeared from under his feet replaced with crumbling black bitumen. He sidestepped suddenly as a kid in a Wanderer sped through the space he previously occupied. _If I had a normal person's reflexes, she would have crashed straight into me. Lucky her. _

To his right, a small set of stairs lead down to a recessed, basement level entrance. A pale woman in an oriental silk robe was painted in pastel colours on the door. Six suspected that the painting once held bright red, blue and green pigments that had slowly been stained dull due to the heavy polluted fog of the City. He put his palm on the door and pushed it open.

Six stepped through into the busy Tea House. He could barely walk without brushing against another patron. Voices ricocheted off the walls along with the rattling of china. This was the reason Six elected this business as the meeting place with Hoz. The constant background noise greatly decreased the chances of their conversation being overheard or recorded, the constant movement of people meant he could easily evade anyone who tried to follow him and identify anyone who was watching.

A man in his early thirties with black hair and pale, greenish eyes sat in a booth tucked away in the corner of the room. Six made his way over to him.

Hoz had been imprisoned for 18 months when Six first met him. Now four months since his rescue, Hoz appeared less pale and gangly but there was still an air of anxiety about him. He had his hands wrapped around a small teacup which Six imagined was solely to stop his hands shaking.

"Thank-you for coming." Hoz said as Six slid into the booth next to him.

"No problem. What do you have?"

Six saw Hoz glance around the room uneasily.

"It might be nothing, or it might be everything." He took a deep breath. "I've kept in touch with a number of those who I was imprisoned with. They are too scared to come forward themselves, so they confided in me. Do you know about a branch of ChaoSonic called Gear?"

"Yes," Six replied. "They make androids for manual labour tasks. Like the ones Shuji had building her soldier bots."

Six thought he saw Hoz shudder slightly at the mention of Shuji's name.

"Yes, that's them….about a month ago, Gear approached me with an employment opportunity in computer programming. It involved the programming of robotics to respond to certain stimuli."

Six nodded slightly to encourage Hoz.

"It wasn't anything nearly as complex as the AI programming which I was…uh…_asked_ to do for Dr. Shuji. I have had quite enough programming to last a lifetime I think." Hoz chuckled mirthlessly.

"I declined the offer." He met Six's eye. "But some of my former _colleagues _accepted due to financial stresses.

"The programming that they are being asked to create, well, it's not something I have ever come across before. It's difficult to explain but the programs being created receive data from extremely complex electrical signals."

"How is that different to a normal computer run AI?" Six asked.

"That's it, there's no AI…well there is no AI or computer substitute that I or the others have been able to discern."

Six was beginning to think that meeting Hoz had been a waste of his time. Hoz had provided no key details or any evidence that the Deck could use. He had no doubt that Gear was up to something suspicious, but so was at least half of ChaoSonic's branches.

"Look, I know it's not much, but I don't know what other information your agency has on them. And this is out of character for Gear. They normally only require simple coding programs for their androids. I'll keep you up to date with any other information I receive."

"Thank-you, that would be appreciated." Six got up to leave.

"Wait!" Hoz grabbed the sleeve of Six's coat and Six felt himself tense. "Before you leave, I have something to show you."

* * *

Six followed Hoz out into the dingy alleyway behind Madame Wu's. Unbeknownst to Hoz, Six had subtly jammed the door they exited through, lest they be followed.

The alleyway was mostly deserted save for a man hurling garbage into a skip bin, rats clambering over themselves to see what it contained.

Hoz approached a dark silhouette on the road which Six saw was engulfed by a ChaoSonic Carcoon. The Carcoon was essentially a soft-metal based, electrified blanket which was designed to incapacitate would be thieves. Hoz entered a code into his smartwatch and threw the Carcoon to the ground revealing a sleek black motorcycle unlike any model Six had seen before.

"She was the fastest production motorcycle ever built pre-Takeover. She possibly still _is _the fastest production motorcycle."

Six eyed the bike as Hoz stepped around the vehicle, eyes shining. It was obviously a sports bike, Six could tell from the smooth tapered fairings and the subtlety hidden low centre of gravity. The curved lines of the motorcycle gave it an almost alien appearance.

"She's an antique," Hoz continued, "refined and perfected by the challenges of opposing companies before ChaoSonic had complete control. She's capable of 0-60 in less than 2.5 seconds and has a top speed in excess of 300 kilometres per hour."

Six's gazed travelled to what he recognised as a Kanji symbol painted in silver on the shoulder of the motorcycle. He pointed at it to Hoz.

"What does that mean?"

"It means Hayabusa in Japanese…a long dead language. It translates to falcon, well, specifically peregrine falcon."

Six's eyes snapped up to Hoz. But Hoz was continuing his monologue.

Hoz traced his fingers over the bike. "I want you to have her."

"No," Six said, "I can't."

"Please." Hoz turned to face Six now. "I want to thank _you _for what you did for me, for what you did for all of us. Please allow me to give you this."

Six had come a long way in the recent months when it came to understanding human emotions. But it still puzzled him the concept of indebtedness that seemed to plague a good portion of people.

"This bike obviously means a lot to you."

"Yes, it does. And what you did for me means even more. Please, I want you to have her."

"Fine," Six sighed, "but at least allow me to give you a lift back."

"Of course," Hoz grinned.

_I'll have Harry scan it for bugs when I get home,_ Six thought as he swung a leg over the motorcycle.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2:

"Bugger off! I'm busy!"

Six pushed through the door to Kyntak's office ignoring his brother's warning.

Kyntak was balancing himself on a swivel chair, precariously reaching up to his picture frame of neatly packed dirt. Kyntak carefully removed a box he had squeezed under his left arm and swiftly emptied the contents into the picture frame.

Six watched as several earthworms began to dig themselves into the dirt.

Kyntak pushed off the wall and landed in the now spinning chair. He grabbed the desk, the chair coming to a sudden stop.

"I always wanted a pet." Kyntak stated dreamily as he looked at the rapidly disappearing earthworms.

"Where did you get those?" Six inquired.

"Shuuushhhh!" Kyntak brought a finger to his lips.

Six gave up.

"Have you had any recent intel spikes on Gear?"

Kyntak propped his chin up with his fist.

"Not that I can think of. Why, you got something?"

Six shook his head.

"Just an informant who has a few concerns about their recent activities. But there's no concrete evidence or really any substantial information."

"Ah well, let bygones be bygones." Kyntak sung, spinning himself in his chair again.

"I don't think you used that quote correctly-"

"Hey!", Kyntak interrupted excitedly. "You want to see a magic trick?"

"Not particul-"

Kyntak thrust a deck of cards into Six's hands.

"Pick a card, any card!"

_Fine, _Six thought. _I'll humour him. Then I can leave him to his earthworm fascination and get back to work._

Six efficiently shuffled the deck and drew the top card.

It was the Six of Hearts.

Six stared at it blankly.

"Now," Kyntak said. "Shuffle the cards again and give the deck back to me."

Six complied and handed the deck back to Kyntak. Kyntak took it and begun shuffling it himself, his eyes closed as he spun himself in a slow circle.

He stopped the chair in front of Six. He pulled a card out from the deck, holding it between his middle and index finger.

His eyes opened as he turned it to face Six.

"It this your card?"

Six found himself starring at the Six of Hearts again.

_What? _Six thought. _How? There's no way he could have kept track of the card I drew._

Six suddenly lashed out and grabbed the deck of cards from Kyntak's hand.

"Hey! Wait a minute!"

Six quickly turned the deck over and spread the cards out in a fan.

All the cards were the Six of Hearts. All of them.

Six slammed the cards back down on the desk.

"I have work to do."

He left Kyntak choking on his laughter. _The earthworms can look after Kyntak, _Six thought.

* * *

Six walked down the corridor towards the King of Hearts office. He touched the handle on the door and stood back allowing his identity to be confirmed by the digicams recessed into the wall. He heard the whirling of the locks disarming and the door opened.

"Ah, well if it isn't the Deck's most _profitable _agent."

Six paused not two steps over the threshold.

"Queen of Spades, you look well." Six responded coolly.

_Why is a black suit here? _Six thought. _Let alone the Queen of Spades. _

"Six." King was looking directly at him. "What can I do for you?"

The QS smiled at him icily.

"I have minor intel from an informant regarding the potential manufacture of soldier bots."

"Minor intel?" The QS drawled. "Surely an email to King of Hearts would suffice."

"I was passing by" Six stated.

"As am I." The QS moved towards the door. She turned back, locking eyes with King.

"I trust you can work collaboratively." It was a statement, not a question.

King held her gaze and nodded. The QS left, the door closing behind her.

Six waited a moment before speaking.

"What was that about?"

King sighed while pinching the bridge of his nose.

"The QS believes we may have a red suit who is going rouge and wants me to monitor and report on it."

"Who?" Six asked.

"Nine of Diamonds." King replied. "Soren Byre."

Soren Byre was a physicist employed by the Deck. She was mainly involved in the design and manufacture of equipment field agents used as well as communications technology and data hacking.

"Don't worry about it." King said. "The QS is probably just being overcautious. Again."

Six wasn't so sure.

"Tell me about your informant."

"He didn't have much to say. Just that he has kept in contact with some of the other hostages we rescued from Earle Shuji a few months ago. He said that Gear has approached a number of them offering employment. According to my informant, the work they are being asked to do is not your ordinary coding for Gear androids."

"Hmmm. It's not unusual for a company to start to develop new ideas and change its product model." King said. "That might be all it is, someone has found a better or more profitable way to conduct business, so that is the route they are taking now."

"You're probably right." Six got up to leave.

"Six." He looked over his shoulder at King.

"Stay away from the Queen of Spades as much as you can. That's an order."

Six nodded and walked out of the office.

* * *

_"I have been studying more of your practice routines. Your fighting style draws from many different disciplines and is ingeniously adaptive."_

"I'm glad you were able to occupy yourself while I was gone." Six said, hanging his coat up. Harry unnerved Six from time to time. The bot was incredibly intelligent, and its literalism seemed to make everything it said far more intense.

"I would like to do some sparring with you this evening. In non-lethal mode, of-course."

_"I can only use non-lethal mode against you, Agent Six of Hearts. I am unable to harm my owner unless circumstances dictate it is necessary to prevent further harm. This is a portion of my programming that can not be altered or overridden."_

"Does that mean you cannot harm Shuji either?"

_"Correct."_

Six pondered this new information. It made sense that Shuji would install a failsafe in case her prototype bot was hacked. Six imagined it also provided comfort to potential buyers who feared the same thing.

"That's good to know." Six said. "Alright, let's go Harry."

Harry launched himself straight at Six, jet pack engaged. Six raced towards Harry, sliding to his knees at the last moment, rolling himself under the soldier bot. Six felt his hair flutter as a mechanical leg kicked out. He ran towards the wall and planted his right foot halfway up. He kicked off and landed his left on the ceiling. Bringing both feet together, Six pushed, propelling himself, fists ready, towards Harry.

A cold mechanical hand wrapped around his forearm. It gripped and pulled him from the air towards the floor. Six felt his neck snap back at the sudden change in direction. Six curled himself around the arm as he was pulled from the air. Landing on his shoulder, Six rolled and used the momentum to throw Harry into the wall.

A loud crash rang out through the training room.

_"You are unpredictable." _Harry said as Six brought himself to his feet.

Harry kicked off the wall, left arm extended towards Six. A blinding flash suddenly caught Six off guard. His pupils contracted, rapidly adjusting to the intense light. Six jumped high into the air. He felt the air being displaced as Harry grabbed for his throat and a brief pressure at the back of his neck.

As Six landed he realised what Harry had done. Harry had turned on the flashlight mounted to his left arm, momentarily blinding Six.

_Clever move. _Six thought.

_"Who is Sender J Lawson?"_

Six froze. In Harry's mechanical hand were a pair of dog tags.

Silvery eyes met his and Six felt his throat go dry.

_"You are not Sender J Lawson. Why are you wearing these?"_

"I think that's enough training for this evening."

_"That is not an appropriate response to my question." _

Six almost felt reprimanded by Harry's response then remembered, to Harry, his response was not logical.

"No more questions this evening, Harry."

Six held out his hand for the dog tags. Harry dropped them into Six's hand.

Six made to leave the training room.

_"You should not wear jewellery in a combat situation."_

Six supposed that was a statement rather than a question.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3:

"Your next mission will be a simple search and rescue," King said as he scratched the back of his head. "Another vigilante group has contacted us requesting assistance locating a missing agent."

Six quickly skimmed through the mission brief as King spoke.

"They've tracked the agent's phone to the old sub-way lines South of the Square but they don't have the equipment to get down there and investigate it themselves. You and Two of Hearts are to breach the sub-way and attempt to locate the missing agent. I already briefed Two earlier this morning. Any questions?"

"Why are you sending me on this mission? Surely this would be more suited to one of the newer Hearts or even as a training exercise for some of the Clubs?"

"Two specifically requested to work with you."

"Why?"

King shrugged. "You can ask him yourself this evening."

Six knew when King was being evasive. He also knew when King wasn't going to give him an answer.

"Fine."

Six got up to leave.

"Unless you would like to take some of the Clubs with you? I'm sure they would be thrilled." King said, green eyes filled with amusement.

Six turned around and stared at King with disgust.

"I'll do it if you give Queen the bigger office," Six smirked.

King glared at him.

Six decided it was time to leave.

* * *

Two swung the sedan into a narrow side street and killed the engine. The old sub-way lines were accessible from an old maintenance building on the corner. A train derailment decades ago caused considerable damage to a portion of the track. Rather than fix damaged area, ChaoSonic deemed it less expensive and more profitable to open a new line bypassing the effected area.

Six opened the boot and started attaching the abseiling equipment to his belt. Two joined him.

"Thanks for coming with me, Six."

"Anytime."

"Do you mean that?" Two inquired.

Six turned to look at Two and thought he saw nervousness in Two's eyes.

"Yes." Six responded.

Two grinned.

"This should be a relatively straight forward operation. I'm not even sure we will find the agent. Hopefully, we'll find his phone at least. Apparently, Queen of Hearts has talked the group requesting our assistance into giving the Deck quite a sizeable intel package as a thank-you."

Six hoped the intel package might hold some information as to who kidnapped Nai. He doubted it.

"Shall we?" Two winked.

Two turned his flashlight on as the tunnel became darker and darker. Six could still see relatively well thanks to his enhanced vision but turned his flashlight on to benefit Two. Graffiti littered the walls either side of the track and Six saw rats scurrying away from the light of their torches. The air was steadily becoming cold and stale.

"Do you know which vigilante group requested our assistance?" Six asked as they walked deeper into the tunnel.

There were a number of vigilante groups that had formed within the City. Some were more effective than others. Some barely made a name for themselves before being wiped out by ChaoSonic. None were more capable than the Deck in Six's opinion.

"Yeah, I do. They're a fairly new group calling themselves 'Turret'. I worked with them briefly before applying for the Deck."

They both came to a halt as the tunnel split in two. Six pulled out a scanner from his pocket. The scanner picked up a faint signal from the left.

"This way," Six said as he continued walking.

They continued walking another kilometer. Six looked down at the scanner, they would be at the source within a hundred meters.

"It's around here somewhere," Six said, showing Two the scanner.

"Six…look at that…"

Before them was a twisted mass of metal.

Six took a step forward. Something crunched under his foot. He shone his torch down and realized it was a bone. Two was looking down at it as well.

"The driver must have been thrown from the cabin when it derailed." Two whispered.

They both raised their torches at the wreckage. The remains of the train were twisted against the ceiling, floor and sides of the tunnel. Six could see a skeleton slumped over the driver's cabin.

"Come on," Six said. "The signal is this way."

Six ripped the side door off the train and stepped inside. The wreckage had blocked the entire tunnel and the only way past was through the train itself. Skeletons lined the seats of each compartment, their bones picked clean by hungry rats.

"This is creepy as hell." Two murmured.

Six agreed with him.

The carriages had jack-knifed in the middle of the wreckage, pivoting against each other and forcing them into the ground. Six looked down at the steep angle of the carriage.

"Be careful," he turned to Two. "It looks like the derailment may have caused structural damage to the floor of the tunnel here. Watch your step."

"Got it."

Six grabbed one of the handles fastened to the ceiling of the carriage and started making his way to the next carriage. Two followed behind him. A rat scurried past Six and disappeared where the two carriages met. Scanning his torch over the area, Six saw a black abyss in the ground. A piece of metal groaned behind him. He turned to see Two staring at his own feet.

"Shit…" Two said under his breath. Then the metal Two was standing on gave one last protest and gave way.

* * *

Two felt something warm and wet running down his right calf. He coughed as dust settled around him. His flashlight had fallen nearby, he reached out to grab it, hissing in pain at the movement. A thick jagged cut ran from behind his knee, ending abruptly above his ankle.

"Two, are you alright?" Two heard Six calling from above him.

When the ground beneath them gave way, Six had hoisted himself up on the carriage handles like a gymnast balancing on the rings. He strained his eyes trying to see Two in the darkness below.

"I've been better." Two called back. "Just a flesh wound."

Clenching his teeth together Two cast the torch around himself. It appeared he had fallen into a maintenance room below the tracks. He saw movement out of the corner of his eye and swung his torch around. A rat scurried into the darkness. Breathing a sigh of relief, he cast the light across the room. Rough cement walls and debris surrounded him.

"Alright, I'm coming down to you." Six begun undoing the abseiling equipment on his belt. Wrapping the rope around one of the metal bars on the ceiling, he tugged it tight. Gradually, Six lowered himself into the abyss. The scanner in his pocket started making a rapid pinging noise.

Popping the torch in his mouth, Two started to ease himself to his hands and knees. A thick, slimy substance made his hand slip out from under him. He brought his hand up to the torch. It looked like the palm was almost black. _Oil?_ He thought.

He plucked the torch from his mouth, shining it in front of him.

Bloodied sockets stared back at him. The lower jaw was twisted to the left, leaving tendons and bone exposed, tongue hanging loosely to the side. Bits of skull penetrated matted hair where it rested against the cement wall. Blood pooled underneath the head. Two snatched his hand back realizing the blood contained chunks of tooth and brain matter. He felt bile rising in his throat.

"Six!"

"Have you found the phone? The scanner is going wild."

"I think I've found our guy."

Two vomited onto the floor.


	4. Chapter 4

Contains Graphic Depictions of Violence - torture of minor original character. If not wanting to read, don't read past the second . -Aster.

* * *

Chapter 4:

Two leaned against Six, arm thrown awkwardly over Six's shoulders as he limped to the medical bay. A fire raged in his calf with every step. He gritted his teeth against the pain.

"I could just carry you." Six said beside him.

"Not. A. Chance." Two rasped out.

Rounding the corner, Six's boots squeaked on the linoleum as he came to a sudden halt.

"Ouch," Two cried, "Six, what the hell-"

"Six, I'm so sorry. I didn't see you." Ace of Diamonds spluttered, tucking a long strand of golden hair behind her ear. "Are you ok?"

"I'm fine. Two, on the other hand, needs your assistance."

Ace looked over Two, eyes coming to rest on his bandaged leg. "That looks painful," she smiled sympathetically. "Jack of Diamonds is on duty at the moment, he'll get you fixed up." She looked back at Six. "I have to run, but I'm sure I'll see you round." Six swore he saw her wink at him as she took off down the corridor.

Two groaned loudly. "Jack of Diamonds. Are you kidding me?"

Six attempted to readjust Two's grip on him. The near 20cm height difference made it feel like Two was trying to push him into the wall rather than steady himself.

"Come on," Six grunted, "we're almost there."

* * *

Narrow grey eyes stared impassively as the magnifying lamp was held over Two's leg. The stench of aftershave and cigarettes filled Six's nostrils. Jack of Diamonds had worked in the capacity of doctor since the Deck's formation. He was callous, cynical, and had a smoking habit that Six could not comprehend from a medical professional. He was 43 years old and was already going grey around the temples.

"This will have to be scrubbed." Jack of Diamonds mumbled. He looked up at Six. "This isn't a peep show so unless you want a Tetanus shot, get out."

Six wasn't fazed. Jack's particular brand of rudeness was infamous throughout the red building. Six turned to leave, ignoring Two's pleading look.

"Hey kid, you still wearing your stupid crucifix?"

Six's lip curved up.

"Not at the present moment." He replied coldly.

"Good to hear. Wouldn't want you to hang yourself on it."

Six felt anger starting to burn within him. _What is it to him?_ He thought. _Jack needs to mind his own business. Both of them._

He left before saying something he would regret.

* * *

_Jack scrubbed his hands clean and gloved up. He had one coming in hot. Broken hand, leg, multiple bullet wounds. Loosing consciousness in transit. Blood pressure dropping…He yelled for the other Diamonds to ready blood for transfusion and request patient details from the transporting Hearts. The Deck had been in operation for one year. One year. And how many agents had they lost during that time? Jack recalled Three choking to death, shredded lungs filling with his own blood. Seven may well have been dead on arrival, makeshift tourniquet nowhere near sufficient to prevent mass haemorrhage. One of the Diamonds called out to him. Six of Hearts. 14 years old. Jack huffed out a bitter laugh. It had only been a matter of time, he thought. _

_The Hearts burst into the medical bay, transferring the limp body to the table. 'Get out!' Jack screamed as the Hearts stood staring at their motionless colleague. He sliced open the kid's shirt and ripped it aside. The fuck… he thought as a pair of dog tags shone bright with blood against pale skin. He tossed them aside. _

_The monitor flatlined, Jack started compressions. _

_Jack peeled the once white gloves from his hands. God, he needed a cigarette. Pushing through the medical doors, Jack came face to face with King of Hearts. _

_'How is he?'_

_Jack felt rage brewing inside him. He pushed past King. _

_A hand gripped his arm, stopping him._

_ 'How. Is. He?' _

_Jack threw the hand off._

_'What the hell are you playing at? Hiring a kid?' Jack snarled._

_'Six of Hearts is an exceptional agent.' King hissed. 'Now, answer my question. How. Is. He?' King's voice rang out in the empty corridor._

_'He'll live to die another day.'_

_Jack pushed past King. He didn't stop him this time. _

_Reaching into his pocket he brought a cigarette and lighter to his lips. Policy be dammed, I need a smoke._

* * *

_New email._

Queen of Hearts looked up at her computer monitor. She'd had Nine of Diamonds set up an unnetworked computer for her to receive the intel package from Turret. Attached to the email was a zip file.

She double clicked it.

The first file was on Tyrro Grosstein. The leader of Turret. A photo was attached. It showed a man in his early twenties, dirty blonde hair and freckled skin. Queen scrolled down. The file contained a list of aliases and associates. She scrolled down further; the next page contained personal information. Home address, parents, wife, children, even pets. Known friends, hobbies, places frequented, and vehicles owned were on the next page. Queen felt unease brewing within her, it started in the pit of her stomach and gradually climbed up her chest.

Her finger flicked over the mouse. A photo of a man. Unconscious and gagged. Face blemished with purple bruises. It was Tyrro. At the bottom of the page was a hyperlink. She clicked it.

The media player installed on the computer opened. A man. Gagged. Sitting on a chair struggling against his bonds. Tyrro Grosstein. A figure behind Tyrro walked off camera. It picked up a thin metal pole and returned to the bound man. Gloved fingers wrapped around dirty blonde hair. A flame erupted at the end of the pole. A blowtorch Queen realised with growing horror. The figure yanked Tyrro's head back and plunged the torch into his right eye.

Queen couldn't tear her eyes away. She felt a cold sweat begin to run over her skin. The figure released Tyrro's head. He slumped forwards against his bonds, gasping. Queen tried to regain her composure. Breathe, she told herself. Who is this person? The figure was wearing a dark hoodie, pulled up masking his face. Strong build, male. He started undoing the restraint on Tyrro's right arm.

Tyrro weakly reached up to push the figure away. The figure clasped Tyrro's hand in his own. Queen saw the figure's shoulder rip back. Tyrro's arm was pulled off at the elbow. Arterial blood spilled down the chair. Tyrro's face contorted in agony, mouth gaping open. Queen suddenly realised the audio had been disabled. She sat frozen, heart thumping in her ears.

Tyrro looked barely conscious now. Queen prayed he wasn't feeling anything. The figure walked to the edge of the screen and picked up another object. A gloved hand held the object up to the camera. A pack of playing cards. The figure walked back and dropped the cards in Tyrro's lap. A jerrycan came into view. Fuel poured over Tyrro's check, drenching his right side. Queen saw the flick of a lighter. She tore her gaze away.

The video ended.

Taking deep, controlled breaths, Queen picked up her headset and dialled King.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5:

King, Six, Kyntak, and Queen stood around the computer watching the footage.

"Hell," Kyntak whispered. "His arm is ripped clean off."

"It gets worse," King grumbled.

Six's eyes widened as the pack of playing cards was brought into focus. He stole a glance at King who was glaring, teeth clenched, at the monitor. Queen was gazing off to the side. Six figured she'd seen enough the first two times.

"So far, Queen and I are the only ones who have seen this footage," King begun. "No ordinary human could rip an arm off like that; I want to know if we could possibly be dealing with another superhuman." King looked at Kyntak. "I want to know if you are capable of doing that."

"Why are you looking at me?!" Kyntak demanded.

"Because I know Six has never killed let alone ripped a limb off someone!" King shouted. The video had clearly hit a nerve.

Six felt guilt wash over him at the comment. He kept his expression neutral.

"Oh, so you think I would?!" Kyntak shouted back.

Six broke the silence that fell. "Have you?"

Kyntak looked at Six incredulously. "Of course not."

Six nodded. "This may be a question better answered by the Diamonds," Six said to King. "They should be able to give an estimate of the force required and then maybe _I _could answer your question."

King gave a slight nod not looking at him.

"When I rescued Six four months ago, I wiped all the Lab computers clean," explained Kyntak. "Even so, I had read all the information on Project Falcon. Only three superhumans were ever created in the original Project Falcon; Six, myself, and the one who worked for the Lab."

"What about the girl?" King questioned.

"She was the only one." Kyntak said, "Besides, that didn't look like four-month-old child to me."

"Only the other Hearts and Grysat know about your origins." Queen said to Six and Kyntak. "We wanted to make sure we weren't dealing with something sensitive before handing this over to the Diamonds to analyse."

_And Ace._ Six thought. _Ace knows about us too. _

"What concerns me the most at the moment," Queen continued, "is the playing cards."

"Someone is sending us a message." Six said.

* * *

"I analysed the mobile phone you and Two brought back," Sammy said while tapping his foot. "I wasn't able to get much useful information from it, but I did find something interesting."

Six and Kyntak stared at broken mobile laying on the table. It looked like an ordinary ChaoCall LR usually favoured by businessmen. Sammy picked up a small plastic rectangle.

"The mobile was fitted with this, an accelerometer. They are used in mobile phones to detect orientation, so the screen is always in the correct view. Some interactive mobile games also use them to detect how fast you are moving the phone. Lucky for us, this phone has recorded the last data readouts from the accelerometer. Almost like a black box."

Sammy moved over to his laptop. Six saw lines of numbers and graphs on the screen.

"According to my calculations," Sammy continued, "this phone was subject to almost 3Gs of acceleration. That's almost 30 metres per second, per second! It was only subject to this rate of acceleration for 0.9 of a second, but it still would have reached close to 100km/hr."

Sammy spun around to look at Six.

"You said you retrieved the mobile from the missing agent's pocket?"

Six nodded.

"So, he must have hit the wall at close to that speed. Assuming the missing agent weighed around 90kg, it would have taken more than 2,500 Newtons to achieve that!" Sammy exclaimed excitedly. "That's a lot," Sammy said in response to their blank looks.

"How much force would be required to rip off an arm?" Six said.

"Excuse me?" Sammy looked confused.

Kyntak put a hard drive on Sammy's work bench. "Queen of Hearts received an email from the vigilante group we have been assisting. It contained a link to a video of their leader being murdered. He had his arm completely ripped off…by another guy."

"_What?_" Sammy breathed.

"We need the Diamonds to run a full analysis on the file received and a trace done on the email address it was sent from," Six continued. "King has also requested an intel brief be disseminated to all personnel. It looks like this guy might be targeting the Deck."

Sammy nodded slowly. "I'll get my team on it straight away."

* * *

"Queen is attempting to contact Turret about the files received. She hasn't had any contact with them since they first requested assistance." Six said to Kyntak as they walked down the corridor. "King wants me to go back to the old subway lines and see if I can find more evidence on what happened to their agent."

"Ok, you don't have to twist my arm, I'll go with you." Kyntak said.

"I don't need backup."

Kyntak stopped abruptly and turned to Six.

"A guy has had his arm ripped off and his eyeball melted from its socket. Some other guy was been thrown into a wall at 100 kilometres per hour by who knows what. Someone _clearly_ has an issue with the Deck. I'm not letting you go alone on this one, I'm coming with you."

"It's just recon." Six muttered.

"Nothing is ever just 'recon' with you." Kyntak said deadpanned. "Don't forget who I am. I _am _privy to your mission records."

"Fine," Six ground out. "But don't expect to get payed."

Kyntak grinned. "I guess I'll just have you owe me. Again."

* * *

"So, tell me how your new job is going?"

"It's going great, Sirah. Thanks for putting in a good word for me." Ace of Diamonds smiled as she wrapped her hands around her mug of coffee. She'd been meaning to catch up with her stepmother for ages. "How's Dad?"

"Oh, he's been keeping the caryards in business," Sirah laughed. "But tell me about you, Harriet. What are your colleagues like?"

Ace beamed. "Jack's such a grumpy old man but he's got a good heart. His lungs might not be so good from all the smoking though. The others are great too, quite a few of them are cross trained as medics." She took a sip of coffee. "You should see some of the research being done. I can't even comprehend Nine's electromagnetism research."

Sirah's eyes sharpened on Harriet. "Oh, what is it about?"

Ace stared out the window. "I don't really know but she thinks it has the potential to 'reduce ChaoSonic to mere atoms'." Ace laughed. "She's certainly passionate."

"We all are." Sirah replied.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6:

Six dropped down into the maintenance room, quickly stepping aside. Kyntak silently sprang down after him. The stench of rotting flesh assaulted his nose. He cast his flashlight over where he knew the body to be. Beady eyes stared back at him. Six thought he saw the end of a tendon disappear into the rat's tiny mouth.

"That's just gross," Kyntak scrunched his nose up at the smell.

The room was the same as Six had seen it earlier. Thick, rough cement walls surrounded them. Rusted pieces of track were leant up against a corner and parts of an engine were strewn about. On the far wall, a steel door was jarred open. It was pitch black save for the light coming from their torches.

Scanning the flashlight across the walls, Six saw the blood splatter from Turret agent's impact. It looked like a large dark ink stain on a page. Above him, he could make out the hole in the ceiling caused by the wreckage, jagged pieces of metal surrounding the opening.

Kyntak crouched over the body. The rat scampered away. "He doesn't have any abseiling equipment on him, and I can't imagine him getting down here without it." Kyntak poked the corpse with the tip of his torch. "I don't see any cuts to his legs, so I doubt he fell through the ceiling. Why was he down here to begin with?"

Six stared at the empty eye sockets. "We don't know. Turret lost contact with him several days prior to contacting the Deck. Last they heard from him; he was meeting with an anonymous drug informant."

Six approached the steel door mounted to the far wall. Grabbing the handle, he pulled it open. It was heavy, the hinges squeaking and groaning as it swung inwards. He inspected the front of it. It looked like a cannonball had slammed into the door. A dark narrow corridor lead to more darkness.

"There's a pedestrian access here, it probably links up to another portion of the tunnels." Six called to Kyntak.

Kyntak approached the door. "What the hell did that…" Kyntak exclaimed looking at the door.

"Probably the same thing that did that." Six looked over at the decaying body.

* * *

Kyntak batted cobwebs from his face as he and Six crept down the narrow corridor. They decided to turn their torches off so not to alert their presence to anyone who may be at the other end. Six felt dust entering his lungs and resisted the urge to cough. He heard something scattering on the pipes above him. _More rats,_ he thought.

The dim outline of end of the corridor was barely visible. Six stopped as he approached it and listened. He couldn't hear anything save for his and Kyntak's slow breathing. He turned his torch on and looked around, Kyntak followed suit. It was as he thought, they had come across another subway line.

Kyntak jumped down onto the track. Six stood motionless at the edge. The back of his neck prickled, fine hairs standing up. A nervous sensation of being watched crawled over him, like little spiders dancing over his skin. He strained his ears listening.

He caught motion out of the corner of his eye. A small pinprick of red light flashed once on the ceiling. He brought his torch up. Nothing was there.

"Six," Kyntak called, snapping Six back to the present. "This looks like blood."

Kyntak shone his torch along the track. Six could see small dark droplets in the light. He joined Kyntak on the rail. The droplets became more frequent as they continued along. Six felt eyes on his back. He whirled around. Nothing.

"What's wrong?" Kyntak asked.

"I feel like we are being watched." Six said, a hint of anxiety in his voice.

The droplets stopped. They swept their torches around the track looking for more. Only a thin film of dust covered the tracks. Six brought his torch up to the ceiling.

Dark red fingers reached down towards him; the tips almost purple where stagnant blood had pooled. Six's gaze travelled upwards along a patchy forearm that was suspended from the ceiling. The middle and index fingers curled towards him like talons. He noticed something trapped between the palm, ring and little finger. He cocked his head to the side to get a better look. It looked like a small piece of paper, like a business card.

Reaching up, Six plucked the paper from the hand. He turned it over and recoiled. It was the Ace of Clubs.

He took a breath, opened his mouth to tell Kytnak, and screamed.

Cold, heavy fingers closed around his wrist. He snatched his hand back and heard something snap. His wrist was released, and the arm landed on the ground, fingers twitching.

"What happened?!" Kyntak exclaimed, as he pulled Six back by the shoulder.

Six was still clutching the playing card, shaking. He heard the scrape of metal on metal and looked up.

Hundreds of tiny red lights exploded above them.

* * *

The tunnel around them lit up with gunfire. Kyntak filled the air with bullets, keeping his finger depressed on the Hawk. It had taken Six a spilt second to change his from Semi-Automatic to Automatic. He joined his brother raining bullets into the ceiling.

One of the red dots leapt down. Sharp metal claws ripped into Kyntak's shoulder. Six used the butt of his Hawk to smash it to the ground.

"What the hell was that thing?!" Kyntak yelled still firing.

Six kept up the gunfire while looking down at the now motionless assailant.

"It looks like some kind of robotic spider." Six yelled.

Kyntak ripped the empty magazine from the Hawk. He slammed another in and racked the gun.

"Whatever it is it can go to hell! That hurt."

Bullets casings pinged against the tracks. The tiny red dots rapidly blinked out. Six felt something land on his boot and swiftly kicked it away.

The last red dot fizzled out as Six's magazine clicked empty.

Breathing heavily, Six swept his gun mounted light across the ground. Hundreds of small, metal robots lined the train tracks. About the size of a large rat, they looked like the cross between and spider and a lobster. Long, sharp, claws extended from the main body. In place of a head, was a large camera lens.

Cautiously, Six kicked a few of them away revealing the arm buried beneath them. Dark wires spooled out where the elbow should have been. Six could see the ends of the broken wires sparking with electricity as the fingers gave one last twitch before going limp.

"Are you ok?" Six asked Kyntak.

Kyntak groaned. "I really liked this shirt." He pulled at the tear on his top.

Six breathed a sigh a relief. "I think that's enough recon for now."


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7:

"This is personal but it's nothing to do with you really."

She groggily opened her eyes as she came to. Mind foggy with confusion, she attempted to reach up to touch her throbbing temple. Her hand didn't rise from the arm of the chair. She tried the other hand. Nothing. Slowly, her senses began to return. Rope bit into her arms and legs. A red dot blinked lazily in the darkness before her.

"Ace of Clubs isn't it?" A voice came from behind her. "I think I could take a good guess at your job role just from the meaning of your card."

Her brain was now rapidly processing her predicament. Throbbing temple, bound limbs, camera in front of her. She had been abducted. _You are in danger, _her sub-consciousness whispered in her ear.

"Ace of Clubs, the ring, a symbol of commitment. It signifies the contract between people or business partners." She could feel breath on her neck behind her. "Does that sound accurate to you?"

She tried to recall her training. Build up a rapport with your captor. Try to establish a connection. Try to make eye contact. They will be less likely to kill you if they see you as a person. She opened her mouth to speak. No words came out.

"Based on this," she heard footsteps travelling away from her, "I deduce that you are the main recruiter for the Deck." Her blood ran cold. She heard something being picked up from a table. Footsteps travelled towards her.

"As I said, it's nothing personal toward you."

* * *

Six walked silently across the shimmering floor of the Deck's foyer, a heavy steel suitcase in hand. A couple of agents from the Hearts suit were quietly chatting near a bronze statue. They stopped, smiling warmly at Six as he entered. He hesitantly gave a small smile and nod back. It made him feel uncomfortable, but he couldn't say he resented it. Kyntak had slowly and subtlety been chipping away at his self-imposed isolation for the past four months. He continued forward. Grysat greeted him from behind the polished reception desk.

"Hello Six, successful mission?" Grysat inquired cheerfully, grey eyes looking over Six.

Six hefted the suitcase onto the desk. "That remains to be seen. I need this scanned and cleared. It contains items recovered from the subway."

Grysat reached over the desk pulling the suitcase toward him, ill fitting suit pulling at his shoulders. "I'll get on it right away. Shall I have it sent up to your office?"

Six shook his head. "No, please send it through to the Diamonds." Grysat nodded and produced a swipe from under the desk. He scanned it before handing it to Six.

"Consider it done." Grysat smiled.

Six paused. "Thank-you," he said before heading to the lifts. He thought he saw Grysat's eyes brighten at the nicety.

Six felt his pocket vibrate. He pulled his mobile phone out and opened the message. It was from Kyntak.

_Spades are in the basement. Not sure why. They are headed to the lifts. About five of them including the King of Spades. Walked straight past me. _

Six paused in front of the lifts. If the Spades had walked straight past Kyntak then it was highly unlikely it concerned Project Falcon or himself. But why were they here? Let alone four of them accompanied by the King of Spades.

Six hit the up button for the lift. He could just ask King when he gave him his mission report. The visit may be something completely innocuous. The lift to his left announced its arrival and the doors slid open. It was empty. He stepped inside and pushed the button for Floor 11.

The pressure decreased on his feet as the lift decelerated and came to a stop. Six could hear muffled voices coming from the corridor beyond the lift doors. They opened and he stepped out. The first thing he noticed was the two Spades agents to his right waiting at the edge of the lift lobby. Mirroring them were two to his left. They stared impassively at him.

His attention was drawn away from them as he heard a door opening down the corridor. A woman with grey hair pulled into a tight bun stepped out followed by the King of Spades and King of Hearts.

"We appreciate your co-operation Nine," King of Spades was saying to the woman, his voice calm and reassuring. "We will finalise the investigation as quickly as possible."

The woman turned and Six saw tears running from her caramel eyes. Her chest was shaking with uneven breaths. She grasped King of Heart's arm.

"This is a _mistake_," she rasped out. "I would never betray the Deck. You know that."

"Soren, my hands are tied by policy. But as King of Spades said the investigation will be finalised as quickly as possible." King gave her a reassuring smile. "I'm sure you will be back with us in no time."

The woman nodded, eyes squeezed shut, back hunching as she held in sobs.

"This way please," King of Spades said, they started walking down the corridor towards the lifts.

Six started move to the side towards the Spades agents. He was sure Nine of Diamonds didn't want spectators.

Nine of Diamonds suddenly whirled around. Her hands shot out and ripped King of Hearts's gun from his thigh holster. Six's eyes widened and he started forward. King grabbed the gun, pushing it away from him as Nine brought it up. A loud bang echoed throughout the corridor. Six saw red explode from Nine's neck, splattering against the white wall behind her. Both King of Spades and King of Hearts slammed her up against the wall. The Spades either side of Six rushed forwards, securing Nine's hands behind her back. They started pulling her towards the lifts.

Nine was wailing and screaming now, feet kicking out as she was dragged forwards. She made eye contact with Six, eyes wild and deranged. Six shivered. "I'm innocent!" she screamed at him. "Don't shuffle me, don't shuffle me!" The Spades forced her into the lift. Six could still hear her screaming as it descended.

King knelt and retrieved his gun from the floor. The King of Spades walked up to Six.

"Sorry about that," he smiled clasping Six's shoulder. "I'd appreciate if you kept this quiet. For Nine's sake."

Six nodded. King of Spades squeezed his shoulder then disappeared into a lift.

King of Hearts re-holstered his gun. He looked over at Six. "I think that's enough excitement for one day." Six nodded silently. "Come on, tell me how the mission went." King walked into his office. Six eyed the blood splatter on the wall before joining him.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

King collapsed onto his chair letting out a deep breath. He lent forward, his face in his hands. Six quietly closed the door behind him, staring at King.

"Sit down," King muttered, face still in his hands. Six complied.

King took another deep breath and finally looked up at Six. "Sammy did a trace on the IP address the email was sent from." Six remained silent. "It was sent from within the Deck." King leaned back in his chair, staring at the ceiling. "It was sent from the unnetworked computer Nine of Diamonds setup for Queen."

"But how?" Six demanded.

"Sammy thinks the email had been set up with a time delay, so it was sent at a predetermined time."

Six couldn't think of anything to say. He knew King was dismayed by the news, the Deck was his life and to have a traitor within his own building must have hit hard. But he didn't know how to console him. He let the logical side of his brain take over.

"She can't be working alone. The person in the video was clearly male. Maybe she's been blackmailed into sending the email?"

King sighed, "Regardless, pulling a gun on a senior member isn't a good look." He looked back at Six. "Tell me, did you find anything in the subway?"

Six told him about the mechanical spiders and the arm. King interrupted abruptly when Six explained about the Ace of Clubs. "Kyntak contacted the black building as soon as we had reception. A team of Spades and Clubs are going to Ace of Club's address," Six said. King nodded. "I've had a few of the mechanical spiders and the arm sent through for the Diamonds to analyse. Grysat is organising it now."

King cursed. "You know what this means, right?"

Six nodded grimly. "Whoever is behind the emails is the one who lead us into the subway."

* * *

_He shrugged his jacket off as he stepped inside the small house. It was silent but he knew it wasn't empty. Placing his jacket up on a hook, he turned to walk down the hallway. He jumped slightly as a child appeared in front of him. Blue eyes looked up at him. _

_'One day you will give me a heart attack doing that,' he chuckled. 'Here.'_

_He threw a book at the child. The child caught it in one hand without looking away from him. _

_'You're only 31, surely you won't die from a heart attack,' the child replied monotone, gaze travelling down to the object in his hand. It was a book. 'Whitman's Encyclopaedia of Physics and Chemistry,' the child read._

_'Yes,' he said, eyes searching for any sign of emotion from the child before him. 'I thought you would find it interesting.' He thought he saw a slight smile tug at the child's mouth before his expression became neutral again._

_'I will.'_

_He sighed. 'Come on.'_

_The child followed him into the house. He collapsed onto the couch in the living room. The child remained standing. _

_'Get over here and sit down,' he muttered. The child sat at the other end of the couch, spine straight._

_'The company I work for is being sold to a larger company – ChaoSecurity Solutions. I'll still keep my job but I'm worried.' _

_'Why?' the child asked._

_'Because this is happening all over the City. And it's not just security companies being sold. It's department stores, grocery stores, service stations. All being bought by the same company – ChaoSonic.' He sighed and looked over at the child._

_'Why does this concern you?'_

_'Because power should be spread equally. If one person or one organisation holds it all, then their power becomes absolute. It will create a dictatorship.'_

_He knew the child understood what he was talking about. He had picked him up 'The Politics of Modern Society – A Study of Anarchy' from the second-hand bookstore last week. He looked over at the child. 'How about we go for a run by the coast tomorrow?'_

_He definitely saw the child's blue eyes brighten at that._

* * *

_A year later, the coast was gone. ChaoSonic begun construction of a colossal wall around the City which was completed in a matter of weeks. The news praised the company for protecting citizens against the other continents who threatened to invade. He felt rage brewing inside him as he turned off the TV. He looked over at the child, he thought he saw disappointment in his eyes._

_'This isn't right,' he grumbled, placing back and forth across the living room. 'Do people seriously believe that bullshit?'_

_He had meant it as a rhetorical question, but the child replied, 'Yes, why else would they allow it?'_

_He fell back down onto the couch looking up at the ceiling. 'Save us from ourselves,' he muttered._

* * *

_'I didn't know you could read,' a voice scoffed behind him. _

_He turned around, placing the book down. Hazel eyes glinted mischievously at him; one eyebrow cocked up. A hand snaked around and grabbed the book. 'The World Since 2000…that's some heavy reading for a security thug like you.' The man laughed._

_He snatched the book back. 'Shut up, Garic.' He handed a few notes to the girl behind the counter. The second-hand bookstore was one of the few shops left still accepting cash. Most places only accepted ChaoCredits now. _

_'Oh, come on. Don't be like that.' Garic said, trailing after him. 'How about we grab a beer? I have enough Triple C points stashed up that it's on me!'_

_He gritted his teeth and tried to release the tension from his body. He hadn't even realised Garic had followed him from work. He turned around and smiled. 'Another time. I'll see you at work tomorrow.'_

_He saw Garic roll his eyes. 'Fine, I don't know what's got you so busy recently. Got some girl you seeing?" Garic teased, punching him on the shoulder. _

_He smiled. 'I'll see you tomorrow, Garic.' He continued down the street._

* * *

_He turned down a dark alleyway, book tucked under his arm. A streetlight flickered above him. He saw the glow of a cigarette in the darkness. A woman in a long beige overcoat was leaning against a dead streetlight, a hat pulled low over her face. She gave the cigarette a flick, ash falling to the ground. He walked down the alley, stopping in front of her._

_'Are you Ms Canasta?' he asked voice low. _

_The woman didn't say anything. She dropped her cigarette and crushed it under her shoe. She walked off down the alleyway ignoring him. A small suitcase sat by the streetlight where the woman had been. He picked it up and walked back up the alleyway._


End file.
